2012 Olympic bronze medalist Akzhurek Tanatarov of Kazakhstan hits a leg attack in international competition.

Proceeds to benefit Care and Share and its efforts to help the community

USA Wrestling is hosting the Keep Olympic Wrestling Duals, a men’s freestyle wrestling competition featuring the United States, Kazakhstan, Chile and Canada, on Saturday, July 13 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., starting at 2:00 p.m.

The event is free of charge to the public, with a request that spectators donate either food or money to Care and Share, a leading local non-profit which supported the Black Forest fire victims and others in need in the community.

Wrestlers from all four nations will compete in matches during the event in a showcase of top international freestyle wrestling. The Keep Olympic Wrestling Duals will help prepare the athletes for the upcoming World Wrestling Championships and other important international competitions.

Lineups for all four teams will be announced in advance. Athletes with major international achievements are expected to be part of the dual meet.  All three nations have strong international teams and individuals. The United States was third in the unofficial standings at the 2012 Olympic Games. Kazakhstan is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and Canada has produced a number of World-class athletes. Chile is a developing nation which competes with the USA and Canada at the Pan American continental events.

The event will also help raise awareness for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement. The IOC Executive Committee recommended in February that wrestling be removed as a core sport from the 2020 Olympics. The Keep Olympic Wrestling effort was important in the IOC decision to select wrestling as one of three candidate sports for the final provisional spot on the 2020 Olympic Games program.

Spectators will have an opportunity to donate food or money to Care and Share when they attend the event. 

The most needed food items identified by Care and Share includes canned fruit, canned vegetables, soup, canned meat or tuna, peanut butter, cereal and oatmeal. Other food donations are welcomed and encouraged.

Every dollar received by Care and Share can acquire 10 pounds of food, the equivalent of 8 meals.

About Care and Share Food Bank
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado provides much of the food on the shelves of food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters throughout 31 Southern Colorado counties, covering 52,000 square miles. Our mission is to bridge the gap between hunger and abundance and we work hard every day to ensure that children, seniors, working families, the ill, victims of domestic violence, and many others facing food insecurity have access to the nutritious food they so desperately need. We have been feeding the hungry in Southern Colorado since 1972 and have continually grown for more than 40 years. Our current Colorado Springs warehouse opened in 2009, allowing us to double our food storage capacity and effectively increase the amount of food we receive, store and efficiently deliver -- including perishable items that can be stored in our refrigerated warehouse space. We now have the ability to distribute 25 million pounds of food annually. During our last fiscal year, we distributed 17.6 million pounds of food to more than 300 partner agencies. We also have a 16,000 square foot warehouse in Pueblo that serves the needs of Pueblo County and the surrounding areas. 

About USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.

About Keep Olympic Wrestling 
In the United States, the official website is http://www.KeepOlympicWrestling.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics, and on Twitter @wrestlingvision. 

The international links for FILA are http://www.fila-official.com/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fila.official and on Twitter @FILA_Official.